About the School

La Petite École (LPE) is a half-day French immersion preschool, serving the Bloor West Village area. We are a licensed preschool under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. We offer a Morning Program for children between ages 2 to 3.5, and an Afternoon Program for ages 3 to 5. The school is open year-round. LPE provides a comfortable learning environment for children who are new to French language, and is a French-speaking school to Francophone children. Children of all language backgrounds are welcome!

Educational programs at LPE are carefully designed to take full advantage of the vast learning capabilities of young developing minds. We have taken to heart the scientific evidence that second languages are best acquired under the age of five. We also subscribe to the fact that early bilingualism has lasting effects on a child's overall development and intelligence. In our school, language is not taught through grammar rules and vocabulary lists; instead French becomes a living, immersive experience. Our teaching approach is based on the natural discovery process, where children directly interact with the object of learning. In addition to learning French through the sense of hearing, children at LPE learn through sight and touch. Engaging multiple sensory functions makes learning more efficient and, importantly, more fun!

LPE combines the best of Canadian preschool and French la maternelle practices and traditions. We strongly believe that children require highly individualized attention. We are, indeed, a ‘’petite school’’, as we limit our capacity to only 16 children. At LPE, children are taught by certified Early Childhood Educators and Assistants from both France and Canada. The school was founded by Caroline Paterson, Ph.D., in 2011 with a goal of raising young children bilingually.

Testimonials

Facilities

All products in the school, from construction to daily use, are chosen for their non-toxicity and neutral impact on air quality. The purple floors are marmoleum, a natural organic material that, unlike carpet, does not off-gas and is cleanable daily; the paint on the walls is by ECO-SPEC of Benjamin Moore, an acrylic paint with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Skylights and casement windows allow for good air circulation, and water filters (rated NSF 53) and air filters are changed regularly. As a daycare, we follow strict guidelines on sanitization. In order to avoid the constant irritation by bleach in the air, we reserve the use of bleach to specific circumstances (body fluids), and use Benefect for our regular cleaning which takes place twice daily, at lunch and at the end of the day. Benefect is a natural botanical disinfectant that kills 99% of germs, while being safe for use around chemically-sensitive children.

Latest News

Check out our After-School Programs page, just updated with our programs for the coming year, including adult French classes!